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Chapter 26
Nariana
Eventually, Zeal had to leave. When I got up to have a shower, Ela slipped in behind me, helping to wash my back. He subtly let me know that they'd heard us in there, although I wasn't surprised. Mostly, he just wanted to know what it had been like to give myself to a god.
I tried to explain it, but there just weren't words for the experience. The feeling of wrapping more than just my body around Zeal was profound. The eroticism and sensuality of it had been perfection. I let him know that it had been soft and gentle, but still mind-blowingly good in a way I hadn't expected. The whole time, Ela listened with excitement, as happy for me as I was for myself.
Then it was Talin, switching the sheets on the bed and laying out something comfortable for me to change into for the evening. Wraythe made sure I had a tea and a space on the couch - where I could easily lean on him. They assured me that I had nothing left to worry about for responsibilities, and that I was allowed to be silly and happy about my newest catch. Yes, I noticed that Anver had left, but Wraythe assured me that was to give Zeal the same attention they wanted to give me.
All of it made me love them more - if that was even possible.
But the next day we were back to class. I had a little extra bounce in my step and no way to explain it. However, seeing all of my guys look at me with subtle smiles and loving eyes made it even better - until I saw Ciella in the halls. Her bare hands looked out of place, and while she didn't notice me, it seemed that everyone else noticed her.
Heads turned and whispers followed as she headed to a different hall for her first class of the day. Ryshie, her guardian, followed along behind her like he'd lost all will of his own. Tishlie wasn't around, but then again, neither was Anver. When we turned for our first course of the day, Wraythe caught my eye and lifted a brow.
"I figured she'd have gloves on," I admitted. "I also assumed that henna would come next."
"Don't think she can do that," Ela said as we reached the room for our Advanced Sexuality for Entertainment class. "Too many people know she got stripped."
"Which means," Talin added when we all shuffled to our chairs, "that there are going to be a lot of people wondering why she's still in the temple."
"Kinen's going to blame Nari," Wraythe warned.
"Who was pushed down the stairs and out of her reach before Ciella's lace vanished," Ela said. "Pretty sure that does nothing but bolster Zeal's case for those who do believe."
"And once again, I'm a pawn," I muttered to myself.
But that was ok. It was part of why all of this had been working. No, I didn'tlikeit, but I was starting to see just how necessary this was. The more people talked about me, the more they thought about Zeal, and in the end, that meant more believers who could eventually see him. Piece by piece, it was working.
Plus, I'd slept with a god. That was a good reward for being used like this. Little memories of how his body felt against mine kept flicking through my mind. The size of him inside me, the way his breath had teased my neck, or even how sweetly he'd kissed me were all on repeat.
"She's smiling again," Talin mumbled.
"You would be too," Ela said. "I mean, what's the time limit on divine afterglow?"
"Shush," I hissed at him. "No picking on me, Ela."
"Nah, just dying of envy over here," he joked before leaning in to kiss the side of my head.
Which was when Saval walked into the class. Ela and I pulled apart to watch as she headed from the door up to the front of the room. Saval looked exhausted, which meant she'd stayed up again last night. Her hair wasn't truly styled, just pulled away from her face. That made the dark circles under her eyes and the pallid color of her face a little more obvious.
"Good morning," she said, starting class as Roek entered - looking just as tired - and headed to his own chair. "None of you are blushing first-year priests. By now, you've all had a rather varied experience with not only sex, but also sexuality. As specialists in Entertainment, that's going to be important." She dropped her bag onto the desk and pulled out a stack of papers. "So, I'm going to pass around a survey for all of you to fill in and return by tomorrow. I want to know what aspects of your Path you have a problem with, and whether that's a dislike or a lack of experience. I would like to know which things you prefer most and would like to do as your primary duty."
Then she began walking up the outside aisle, counting off pages to pass down the row. "You're probably wondering why we're doing this now. Well, it's because your first session for this class is coming up. Next weekend, each one of you will have an assigned session with someone from outside this temple. In order to make sure that we're giving you the best chance of success, the Priests of the Word who make the assignments will need information about each of you."
"But with who?" a girl asked. "If not with other Priests of the Body, then how do we get graded?"
"This first session," Saval said, "will be with priests from the other temples. They will have a survey to return instead of a tithe. Right now, some of our other Paths are doing a similar thing with them, such as Priests of the Word having appointments with Intuition students, Priests of Action having appointments with Inspiration students, and so on. All of our gods are siblings, and they encourage their devoted to actually work together."
"So which temple will we be seeing?" a guy near the front asked.
Saval chuckled. "All of them, actually. I'm sure you don't realize this, but sex isn't as common in the other temples as it is in ours. Some priests find lovers, but most don't. They're kept too busy with their other duties. Thus, Zeal has offered all of you up to help fill that gap. Many of your patrons will be inexperienced - or less experienced. Some will be looking to satisfy curiosity about certain acts that are considered lewd by the rest of society. The freedoms we have in the Temple of Temptation are something that you've been raised to take for granted, simply because Zeal wants each and every one of you to see sex as normal.Allversions of sex."
"Now," she went on, moving to yet another row, "we have had some requests." Saval's eyes jumped over to find me, and she smiled. "Plenty of you have made friends, flirted with someone, or have simply been noticed. The point of this lesson, however, isn't to pushyoursexuality. It's to show you how the assignments will work, what power you have in accepting or denying a session, and how to prepare for the unexpected."
"Is it really unexpected if we've been requested?" Ela asked.
Saval chuckled. "Yes, it can be, if for no other reason than your partner won't know what to do or what might come next. When you enter a session room with a Priest of the Body, you both know you're there to have sex. You set your limits - which most people do not automatically do - and then you get to it. Within hours, or minutes in some cases, you're finished and headed home. This will not be like that. Each of you will have the room for the night..." She paused to count out yet another stack of pages. "...And you will be expected to make your patron feel comfortable. Whether you stay with them, leave them there, or anything else, your patron cannot feel abandoned. We are not whores. We are Zeal's physical presence in this world, and our job is to offer that intangible thing that someone else needs."
